Mopar Muscle Magazine 360
I would probably never take it past 6 grand anyway, unless the occasional strip time. I'm looking for a really fun street car, with occasional strip time. I'll probably do a few oiling mods anyway just to make it live as long as it can.
If you're NOT going to stretch it out to plump up your powerband, then there is no point in running such a "big cam", because
A)you are sacrificing average power at the track, and
B) there is a good chance that the next smaller cam will have the same average power when stretched out properly to a lower peak rpm, and the low-rpm power of the smaller cam may very likely be stronger, making the use of a 4000TC not necessary, and
C) like you said; your 4.10s with the 29s are equivalent to 3.75s with 26.5s. So a little more bottom end may be appreciated for a guy who wants to be gentle on his engine. And the truth is how often are you gonna stretch it out to 7000?, which in your combo is pretty much right on 57mph at the top of first. Yeah, on paper, it's a great combo. But those tires with street suspension,are gonna spin all the way thru first gear,with that engine....... and also with one that has two sizes smaller of a cam, with properly matched compression. That begs the question " how much quicker will a 455hp engine be than a 420hp engine?, from zero to 60,in street trim? And what do you have to give up to get that
fraction of a second.
D) and then, 3650/455=8.0wp and that is good for about 116 mph. Which is good for about 11.5-ET with a SuperStock suspension and the right gears. But with your street set-up maybe low 12s, say 12.1, or slower if you shift at 6000.
But; 3650/420=8.69pw, which translates to about 113mph and a possible ET of 11.7 with SS suspension, and possibly 12.3 in street trim if you find the right shift-rpms. So again, what are you giving up for .2 second ET?
IDK man, I'm at 3650/400=.9125 or about 113mph. Which in street trim is a theoretical ET of 12.4. That's quick enough and fast enough for this cowboy.And it makes an awesome stick-shift streeter. I'm set-up to drop 190 pounds in a few minutes, and that translates to 3460/400=8.65pw or 115mph and that's a possible12.2 in street-trim, and a goal of 11.5 in SS trim.
She idles down to 550 in gear, driving around the parking lot.And,She breaks the 295s loose at any speed up to 50mph/4200 rpm. And Once broke, it spins till I shift. And It never overheats. And It doesn't buck, surge or misbehave in any way. I'm just saying.
Would I like a street 455? Sure. Would I build one,not with an automatic. Probably not with a stick either. Been there done that. Jus saying.